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Book Chat:

Short Stories

by Elizabeth Parker

Sometimes I ask myself why I care about finding transgender elements in mainstream fiction. Why do I find it exciting? After all, I can get right to what I'm looking for by reading transgender fiction, which is usually very ably written. Is it the thrill of the chase? Partly, but the answer I've come to is that mainstream authors tend to treat our subject differently. Often disparagingly, but they tend to look on the subject with different eyes, and sometimes they come up with exciting twists which our prejudices don't allow us to see. That example is amply illustrated by the stories below.

As you've probably noticed, I almost never review short stones in this column. That is because they tend to be part of collections which have little to interest us from a transgender perspective and are relatively expensive to purchase. But this month's headliner had so many interesting stories, I couldn't resist bringing it to your attention. It is "Noirotica 2: Pulp Friction", edited by Thomas Roche. Every collection has a gimmick, and this one's is mainstream pulp fiction, with an erotic theme, as the title so cleverly indicates. It is much like the work of Jim Thompson, the early noir writer, and inspiration for the modern day revitalization exemplified in the movie "Pulp Fiction". In no particular order, here are the stories with transgender aspects.

In the story "Heaven Sent", by Carol Queen, two young men, Jimmy and Dave, have just robbed a bank. Having taken no care in disguising their identity we find that they base their entire plan on a scheme by Jimmy's girlfriend Angel. Angel is a beautiful dancer and lip-syncher in a nightclub, and of course, she disguises them as women for their escape to Mexico. The preparation and escape is fun, and once safely in Mexico, they enjoy a graphically described threesome. I've saved one surprise for you, though I believe you'll figure it out ahead of time.

In "Torch Song", by Lucy Taylor, a despicable sweatshop owner, Bucky Rangoon, is visited by a pretty reporter. As she interviews him we discover that he is suspected of setting a fire for insurance money which killed some of the women who worked there making dresses. But later in the story, the reporter begins stripping, and turns it into a strip-a-gram. Then we find out that Bucky enjoys dressing up in women's clothing. What happens next is poetic justice.

In "Breakfast in the House of the Rising Sun", by Caitlin R. Kiernan, we follow several characters, including a drug lord and a drug courier. One of those characters is a sexy transvestite hooker, Rabbit. Rabbit is used as a pawn in the game which follows.

Another story is an excerpt from a book you might be familiar with; "Nearly Roadkill - An Infobahn Erotic Adventure", by Caitlin Sullivan and Kate Bornstein. It is about two internet chatters, gender unknown, who describe various scenarios to each other and who take on various roles.

In "Dick Death, Punk Detective Episode Two: The Death Club", by Bill Brent, Dick Death is a P.I. investigating a case, as usual, brought by a sexy client. Dick's personal life is spiced up by the fact that he is in a submissive relationship with Kendra, who stands 5'10" to his 5'7. While there is no actual crossdressing, his sex games with Kendra are quite titilating and once, while having sex she threatens to put him in one of her dresses. She has apparently done that before because he "hates" it when she does that to him.

The last two stories in this book which are transgender oriented contain surprises, which I will ruin just by mentioning the story in this context. If the ones I've given you above are enough, go ahead and purchase the book, and read all of the stories so that these will catch you off guard. If you still need some convincing, read on, and I'll try to leave as much unsaid as I can.

In "A Trick of the Light", by Mason Powell, the detective is investigating a murder on a movie set seemingly performed by a woman in the women's shower room. Along the way he encounters Margo, who dominates him excitingly. He also interviews Roni, the closeted gay co-star. Roni introduces him to gay sex in a very subtle and sexy way. The murderer might still come as a surprise to you, and you'll have fun along the way.

The final transgender story, "Kyushu's Disguise" by Charles Ardai, is probably the best one in the book. Michael, a security expert, is hired by a crime lord, Honshu, to check out his security and track down his missing son, Kyushu, who disappeared two years ago. Michael presents his security report successfully, making fools of Honshu's guards in the process, but reports failure on the search for his son. Then Honshu's secret bodyguard and lover, Alice, makes a fool out of him. Honshu accuses Michael of being Kyushu and he is taken to be killed. As you read the story, I believe you will figure out who Kyushu really is, and it is quite good. You'll also enjoy going back and rereading the story with the foreknowledge of Kyushu's identity.

Now with all of these wonderful stories, you're probably asking yourself, what about Noirotica 1? Well, I wanted to present these as a set, but couldn't find my copy by the deadline. But consider that I wasn't tempted to tell you about this before, and so I don't believe there to be much if any, stories of interest. As soon as I find out for sure though, I will let you know.




In keeping with the short story theme this month, consider looking at "Love Kills", edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg. This one only has two stories of TG interest, but what stories they are.

The first one you've probably heard of. It's on "the lists", and has been published several times before. It is "The New Girl Friend", by Ruth Rendell. The story is narrated by Christine, who we think at first is having an affair with her best friend's husband, David. She tells her husband that she has a new girl friend. It turns out she wasn't lying. She discovers David crossdressed one time and is amazed by how pretty he looks. Fascinated, and drawn to him as she cannot be to other men, they begin having outings together. It all comes to a head on a weekend trip together. One of the best crime TG stories ever written, and well worth reading if you've never read it before.

The next story is another one of those "if you see it here I've given away the surprise" ones. But take my word for it, you want to read this story! "I'm Not That Kind of Girl", by Marthayn Pelegrimas, is written from the point of view of a beautiful woman sitting in a bar and enjoying the music. She is hit on by a cad, as she has many times before. She hears the same lines, predicting them contemptibly before they come out of his mouth. Yet surprisingly, she ends up going with him. You can probably guess the surprise, but hearing her description, and then rereading the story once you know the surprise is quite fun.



Bibliography
  • Gorman, Ed and Greenberg, Martin H., "Love Kills", Carroll & Graf, 1997, ISBN: 0-7867-0426-8 (Paperback)
  • Roche, Thomas, Editor, "Noirotica 2 Pulp Friction", Masquerade, 1997, ISBN: 1-56333-584-0 (Paperback)
  • TGF's Home Page